forum Ocean blue eyes looking in mine. I feel like I might sink and drown and die

Started July 15, 2023 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

@Carrots king, let’s gooooooo

ahhhhh would you like me to start then?

There was nothing that Keiryn could think or focus on. Nothing to distract him from the searing pain coursing through his side. Nothing to distract him from the absolute agony that he was in. After all his years, all the battles he had faced, wounds he had received and the scars that had come with, this was the worst so far.

Cloud Tower had been attacked. By what, Keiryn didn’t know. He had been on his way to a meeting with Headmistress Griffin and had just entered through the doors of the school when there had been a quake that had shaken the entire place. He knew he should have been on guard the moment he stepped into that place but he had known Griffin a long time and knew Clout Tower. He had studied there in his youth, had become the witch he was now because of that school, he had thought there would be no need for him to be concerned about an attack. Alas, he had been wrong, and it had resulted in a wound that was killing him. In the process of trying to help the students out and to safety the witch had been too distracted to notice both the figure that had moved behind him and the sharp metal that had been headed his way. Both had got to him before his instincts or magic had kicked in. It resulted in a stab wound that ripped down his side and was currently bleeding all over his hand and coat, and the attack from behind had knocked the air out of him - and had only added to the pain he was currently experiencing.

How he made it out of there was a blur of colour and wind and pain. Keiryn didn’t realise he had made it far away and to Alfea Collage until the gates of the fairy school were in view. In wasn’t exactly where he wanted to be, but he had no other choice. None at all, because if he didn’t get help soon he was certainly going to die and even his pride wasn’t going to get in the way of that today. Keiryn knew that a witch like him and one that was bleeding out so terribly was going to be one that caused fright in the students, but there was nothing more that could be done about that. Someone would be kind enough to help, right? They were fairies after all, wasn’t it in their nature to help? He hadn’t dealt with fairies for a good long while, mainly because the goodness of them all was far too much at times.

Stumbling, Keiryn waded through the forest and out into the open, and he, for once, was glad that it was day since it meant there would be people around. People meant help. People meant that he might be okay. Of course, the chances of a fairy helping a witch would be low, and he had a feeling that none of the students would want to get close. As long as they got a teacher. As long as one of the professors was around to see.

There was blood all down his side as Keiryn made it past the front gates. Far too much blood for it to be normal or safe or anywhere near okay. And then he was spotted, and he heard the scream that followed. It sounded more of shock than of fear, but in his state, Keiryn wasn’t so sure.

“Open yourself up to the magic of the world around you. Feel your emotions, acknowledge them, let them fill you, and continue to use them as a reliable source for your magic. But do not let it consume you. Remember, you control your magic. It does not control you. To unlock true magic, you must make peace with all of your emotions. The reckless joy of the positive and the despair of the negative. There is beauty and power in both.“

Farah Dowling stopped pacing at the front of the classroom, eyeing her students briefly before placating them with a brief, “That’s all for today.” The sound of papers shuffling and bags sliding around filled the room until the only one remaining was Farah. The headmistress pursed her lips as she glanced out the classroom window. A lovely overlook of the Specialist training grounds made her smile softly. But she couldn’t see…

“Farah?” The sound of her name made her turn immediately toward the door. Surprise and relief washed over her.

“Saul,” she replied, striding toward him. “I was wondering where you’d run off to. Are the spars over?”

“Not quite,” the Specialist headmaster replied. “But,” he quickly added seeing the look of alarm appear on Farah’s face. “I’m letting Sky finish them up.”

Farah shook her head slightly and moved around Saul toward the door. He quickly moved to follow her, falling into step beside her and flanking her right side effortlessly. “Where’s Ben?” she asked simply.

Saul opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the voice of the botany professor came from a small alcove up ahead. “I’m right here.” Farah paused for a moment before Ben appeared, holding a vial in his hands and his glasses slightly askew. “What’s the matter, Farah?” he asked, taking the position on her left.

“Nothing,” the headmistress replied easily, heading for the inner courtyard. “Just wondering how far you’ve come with the Zanbaq.”

Ben held out the vial in his grip long enough for Farah to study it for a moment. “It’s going quite well. I have Terra and Sam helping occasionally, and—”

“Do they know why you’re making it?” Farah interrupted shortly.

“No,” Ben answered quickly. “No, I haven’t told them, Farah. And I won’t.” He paused a moment, as if hoping Farah would assure him that the secret no longer needed to be kept from his children and everything was alright. But she said nothing more as they walked.

As they neared the courtyard, Farah’s steps began to slow. Saul and Ben noticed, pausing behind her when she stopped in her tracks. “Far—” Saul began, but she silenced him with a short wave of her hand.

Her eyes illuminated silver-blue with her magic, feeling the presence of something she wasn’t familiar with. But what it was… she couldn’t place.

“Farah?” Ben asked tentatively. “What is it?”

Farah shook her head. “Nothing, I think. Just my magic acting—”

That was when the screams started. Farah, Saul, and Ben all hurried rapidly through the halls of Alfea until they reached the exterior courtyard. The sight made Farah’s eyes widen. A very injured person had stumbled through the gates, bleeding profusely from a wound in his side. Immediately, Farah assessed the situation.

“Ben, go prepare a healing kit and whatever kind of elixir you can make to help him in case I can’t.” The man nodded and headed right off to his greenhouse where Farah would know how to find him later. “Saul, clear away the students. All of them, to their dormitories now.” He nodded sharply and began to herd students away from the scene.

That left Farah and the wounded stranger. Taking a deep breath, she approached him and eased her arm around his shoulders to guide him with her body. “This way,” she urged. “You’d better hurry up before you bleed to death.” She began to lead him to her office, praying she had enough time to get him there and then help him back from what was very clearly the brink of death.

(I have more plot ideas asdjkfkjfh this is why I like to start rps and then plan hehehehehehe)

(ooo please share!)

Keiryn was on the defence. He needed help, he wasn’t an idiot, without it he would die and that wasn’t going to help matters in the slightest, but being in a school filled with fairies wasn’t the place he wanted to be. Fuck, he couldn’t remember the last time he had anything to do with fairies. Witches and fairies didn’t mix. He’d seen it first hand and had heard enough about it from Griffin- well, specifically about the Trix and their antics with a group of fairies called the Winx - but regardless, they didn’t mix in the first place.

All the fashion and sparkles and clothing and brightness of Alfea was blinding, worse than the sunlight. Students were being hurried away, there were Specialists around, too, and he was sure that they would no doubt be on guard at a wounded stranger stumbling through the gates to their sister school.

But that burning was killing him. It seared through his side as if he had been hit with the strongest magic in all of the magical dimension. None of his other wounds had ever felt like that before. They had been painful, yes, and hurt like a fucking bitch, true, but never to this unbearable agony that he was currently experiencing.

He’s never been a religious man, but if there was a God out there, Keiryn was certainly praying to them now.

And then there was a woman. A woman standing by his side and ushering him out of the open and towards the school. Keiryn nearly snarled at her. Instinct told him to, past experience yelled that it was the right thing to protect himself, but he ignored both.

“I can walk on my own-“ He managed to grind out, teeth gritting together. Every word was a struggle, and it was very clear that he definitely needed the help no matter what he said.

Stubbornness would always be his downfall. It had been since he was a child, it certainly would be the same today.

(I’ll shoot you a pm ;))

As Farah approached him, her eyes illuminated again, casting a veil and barrier around them to keep prying eyes away. Then, she opened herself to his feelings and was shocked at the wave of burning anguish he felt. Too many questions formed in her mind all at once. How did he get this hurt? Where did he come from? What kind of weapon did this to him?

The headmistress shoved them all down and instead focused on helping him through the halls. They were nearly at her office now. On a whim, she glanced behind her and noticed the bloody trail following them. She swore, low and under her breath, before using her magic to clean up the mess. The dark red patches on the ground instantly vanished.

Her mind instantly went next to the magic she’d need to use to heal him. And if she couldn’t do it, Ben would supply medicinal aids from his greenhouse. But Farah would not fail, she refused to. She—

The powerful fairy was distracted from her thoughts by the man beside her. He was speaking through gritted teeth, looking like he wanted to lash out at her. Well, if he wanted to try, Farah would hand him his ass, especially in his wounded state. She frowned at his words.

“Barely,” she shot back. “I would guess you didn’t stumble to Alfea just for the view. I’m offering the help of myself and my school to heal you. Now, if you don’t want my help, I can tell you right now that you will die. Is that what you want?”

No, it wasn’t what he wanted. Keiryn pulled at one of his lip rings, fighting the urge to argue, “No.” Came the quick response, and he tried his best to keep himself from sounding as if he was going to snap at her.

It wasn’t hard to deduct who she was. The infamous headmistress of Alfea Collage was known throughout the world of Magix, just as the headmaster and headmistress for the specialists and witches were. Farah. There was no other fairy in the school that would have magical abilities strong enough to heal him from the brink of death. There was no other that would be able to nurse him back to health, or at least, healthy enough to head back to Cloud Tower.

There was no way he was making their journey alive and alone if he attempt to do so in any such state like the one he was currently in. He would die before he even made it half way. The forests weren’t exactly dangerous around Alfea but towards Cloud Tower? If he didn’t die trying to make it there he certainly would by one of the monsters that resided in those parts. No, if he wanted to make it alive he would have to accept help. It had been mere coincidence that he had made it to Alfea, but out of all the places he could have ended up, this was the right one.

Each step sent shooting pains coursing through his whole body. Burning and raging overtook it all until he was unconsciously putting his weight more onto Farah for support. They needed to hurry. He wasn’t going to make it much longer at this stage. His vision was beginning to go spotty and hazy, the world was spinning slowly and all he could feel was the wetness from the blood on his hand and side.

Farah arched her eyebrows slightly. "Exactly," she muttered back. For someone who so desperately needed help, she wondered why he was being so short and clipped with her. Like he was restraining himself from something. Well, she'd have time to worry about that later.

For now, he was fading fast. She knew because he was relying on her more and more to walk, whether he realized he was doing it or not. Farah easily accommodated him and steered him into her office. Once they were inside, she shut and locked the door with her magic and placed a veil so no one would be able to enter. Then, she lowered him to the ground slowly. Her firm fingers took his hand and moved it away from covering his wound. Farah swallowed heavily at the sight of the wound. Then her eyes flickered up to his face.

"This will only take a moment," she said before her eyes lit up. Farah slipped into his mind easily in his weakened state and eased him into unconsciousness. When his body was limp in front of her, Farah got to work.

–

An hour later, Farah was back to sitting at her desk. The blood had been washed from her hands, and she looked as immaculate and precise as ever in her clean, form-fitting black dress. Kieryn had been changed into some of Saul's extra clothes and was stretched across a couch in the middle of the room. The blood had been washed from his skin, and he was sleeping peacefully. Farah was poised at her desk doing paperwork as she waited for him to wake up.

It was strange having someone else in his head. Usually it was Keiryn doing the rooting around in someone else’s mind but this time it was the other way around. He didn’t like it, even in his weakened state he hated having someone else there, controlling it, telling him what to do. Was this how everyone felt when he did the same to them? It placed a little perspective on things but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Either way he was suffering and his mind was in a thousand places and her no where all at once.

He let himself be drifted off to sleep. Let Farah work her magic on him. Even if he wanted to protest which - had it been any other time - he probably would have, but he didn’t. Not this time. Keiryn was already fading fast and fighting against it would only make matters more difficult for them both. She was trying to help. It was what he needed and for once he was going to allow himself the luxury of someone providing it for him, as much as it was strange to do so.

There was no sensation after he slipped into unconsciousness. No pain. No fear. Just pure blackness and the numbness that came with. A blessing, for once, instead of a never ending nightmare.

When he finally started to come to, however, the pain rose up. It was lessened only by, what he presumed, was the magic that Farah had used on him, but not by much. Keiryn groaned, the noise echoing throughout the near silence of the room bar Farah’s rustling of papers at her desk.

His eyes opened slowly, blinking at the light and squinting as another groan was pulled past his lips. Fuck. Keiryn needed a drink, and a big one. Something strong to knock the pain away. Considering where he was he knew he wasn’t going to get it, but a man could dream, at least. It was then that he clocked the change of clothes and he frowned. A bit unnecessary in his opinion, to change him, as much as his other clothes had been soaked with blood. The loose fitting pants hung low on his hips, as did the loose white shirt to provide room for the injury to heal hung off his shoulder a touch. Pushing himself up right, his gaze scanned the room before landing on Farah.

While in his head, Farah remained focused on the task of drawing Kieryn into a dreamless sleep so she could heal him properly. The temptation to look at his other thoughts and memories tugged at her, but Farah was far too noble to sort through someone's mind without their permission. The only reason she was in Keiryn's mind now was for his own good. It would be a much easier process to heal him if he was unconscious. And she didn't particularly didn't want him to see her magic at work.

Later, Farah's lips were pursed as she studied a long-winded document from one of her professors. If only people could be direct with her instead of feeling like they had to fluff up their words to sound important. She was more pissed off than anything else since, more often than not, it only proved to waste her time.

The silence was just about deafening when she heard his first groan. Her eyes lifted immediately from the dull manuscript she was reading to observe him. Again, the temptation to breach his mind nagged at her, but Farah dismissed it quickly. She wouldn't do that. It was immoral.

Farah watched as he studied his clothes, internally holding her breath. The underlying message of the clothes seemed to glare at her in the face. Someone – Farah – had to have changed him out of his blood-soaked clothes and into the new ones. But she wasn't the most skilled mind fairy in the Otherworld for nothing. She reflexively donned an impassive stare, especially as he sat up and looked around before locking eyes with her.

The headmistress kept her face neutral as she set down the paper in her hands and gave him a once-over. "You're awake," she stated plainly.

Keiryn’s mind wasn’t a great place. Regardless of the fact that he used dark magic, his past, his memories that linked them still burdened him even all these years later, but one would never be able to truly escape their childhood no matter how hard they tried to do so, not even someone well versed in the mind. It showed in the scars he donned, from the ones on his face to the others across his arms, back and stomach. Some painfully clear that they weren’t inflicted by outside sources, others too difficult to tell. It was probably his main issue with being changed by a stranger. Those intimate parts of him weren’t just on display for anyone.

But apparently they had been for the Headmistress and it had him frowning at the thought. Not that it was really her fault, she didn’t have a choice. It was that or leave Keiryn dressed head to toe on bloodied clothes and he wasn’t fond of that thought, either.

He sat up straighter, placing his feet on the ground. The move had Keiryn reaching for his side, grabbing at the wound with a soft hiss, “You don’t have any painkillers, do you?” He ignored the obvious statement.

Yes, he was awake. Clearly. From the fact that he was sitting up and speaking and suffering. Keiryn wasn’t going to entertain Farah with sarcasm at the present moment, he was too sore. That would come later, when he wasn’t in so much pain and he had the right mind to do so. Attitude, he knew, wasn’t going to be his best friend but those parts of his personality were just him. Had been for nearly thirty years, that wasn’t going to change for some fairy, let alone the headmistress.

If only Farah could tell him that when she'd finished healing his wound, it had nearly made her pass out from the effort. That when her fingers were removing his shirt, she'd held her breath. That when she saw all of the scars on his chest, she had teared up. That when she saw the scars on his wrists and his arms, she'd cried pathetically.

If only she could tell him that when Saul had come at her request to deliver a change of clothes, she'd barely opened the door for him. That when he asked her what was wrong, all she'd done was shut the door in his face. That the tattoos on his back and arms had sparked her interest, especially knowing the meaning behind her own small and simple tattoo on her finger. That she wanted to know more about him despite not having a clue who he was.

But the frown on his face told her enough, and even if he hadn't expressed his discontent with her changing his clothes, Farah still would have kept her mouth shut. 'If onlys' ran through her mind on a daily basis, so it was basic practice keeping them unsaid. Her eyes stayed locked on him as he sat up and reacted to the pain it caused. She nearly rose to her feet, but she possessed enough self-control to stay seated.

"Yes," she answered with the same even tone. "But not in here." Farah had already asked Ben to make several doses. The first few were done, she knew that much. Unless this man meant another kind of painkiller, like the bottle of gin in her desk drawer.

Keiryn pushed himself to his feet and the action made him wince. It was an effort not to grab at the wound harder, to tear it out of his body and throw it to the ground in hopes that it would stop causing so much pain, but he didn’t. Instead, he used his free hand to steady himself on the arm of the chair and slowly make his way over to the headmistresses desk. He didn’t take in the rest of the room, nor did he care for it, the only thing he cared for in that moment was getting something in him to ease the pain, didn’t matter how at this point.

When he finally made it the short distance, the witch sat himself down in the seat opposite. Eyes of ocean blue never wavered, no matter how tired he was, and remained on Farah the entire time. His magic was useless for the time being. Too weak. He didn’t know if she was worried about him attacking her or her students but in his state there was certainly going to be none of that. He didn’t have the energy. Even if he was a strong witch it didn’t matter with the wound he was currently sporting. And he was sure he looked dishevelled as anything. Sweaty, hair a mess, pained. Not exactly the best first greeting.

“You wouldn’t have anything to help at all, headmistress?” The question was asked with a small tilt of his head. Keiryn could easily conclude that any sane headmaster of any school such as this would have an emergency supply of alcohol in their desk. Dealing with children all day would do that to a person. At least, it would do that to him, if he were in that position. Thank Gods he wasn’t.

Keiryn didn’t care whether it was tequila or cider or normal painkillers but he needed something. Anything. Everything was hurting and as he sat in front of Farah he could feel it worsening. The quicker he healed and got out of there the better. It meant he could get back to Griffin and check in on her, on those other witches. The students. He had to make sure they were okay.

Farah lifted her chin slightly while watching him stand and make his way over to her. Her eyes tracked his movement while watching the pain play across his face. She had done her almighty best, but a wound like his… She’d had to pour every last bit of magic she could spare into healing him enough that he would live. He might still be in pain, yes, but he was alive. And that was what mattered to Farah.

The first thing Farah noticed as he grew closer was the shocking blue color of his eyes. It was nothing like she’d ever seen before, not even like a water fairy channeling their powers. Interesting. And his gaze never wavered or left her. Well, that was fair since she was the most dangerous thing in this room. Probably this whole school. It was wise on his part not to break eye contact.

But his question. There was something pointed in it. Like he was asking for something he didn’t want to outright say. And Farah was no idiot. “Just what are you implying?” she asked, arching her eyebrows. “There are medicinal painkillers in the greenhouse. None of them have been brought up here yet.” Then she gave him a subtle once over. “I take it you know who I am then.”

“It’s hard not to know who the Headmistress of Alfea is,” Keiryn replied, leaning back in his chair, “And considering your job it wouldn’t surprise me if you had some form of alcohol in here. Only a nutcase wouldn’t.”

Maybe nutcase was a bit far but Keiryn was too far up his own ass to really give a shit for manners. Farah could kick him out all she wanted but that wasn’t going to make a difference to his attitude. Either way, he had a feeling she wouldn’t, no matter how many threats she may make about it in the future. The fairy had far too many rules and morals. If she didn’t, he wouldn’t be here. A lone witch on his own, bleeding to death in the middle of the forest wasn’t a common sight and it certainly wasn’t a safe sight. He could have been faking, could have been anyone in disguise looking for trouble and to get inside those walls but he wasn’t. And Farah had helped him regardless. That said enough about her character.

Keiryn shifted, the pain in his side worsening as he did so. His hand remained on his side, the bandage wrapped around his middle that covered most of him. Even as he did so he didn’t move he gaze. Not at first. He remained looking at the headmistress before finally reading his gaze away and around the room. The desk, bookshelves. The couch he had been on. Quaint, simple but still warm at the same time. Obvious as to why she was loved by her students. She exuded mother energy, even if stern at times. Keiryn had no doubt anyone who landed in her class would be more than happy, if only a little scared.

Farah let her thin lips settle into a small smirk. She was incredibly well-known for being likely the most powerful mind fairy alive. Or perhaps even the most powerful fairy.

In answer to his statement, Farah reached over and opened her top left desk drawer. Her fingers gripped the bottle she kept secret, not even telling Saul and Ben about it, and lifted it to sit on her desk. “You’re rather observant,” she remarked, still studying his face intently. His scars, his eyes, his hair, his lip rings.

She reached back into the same drawer and pulled out two glasses. Wordlessly, she began to pour both of them. She’d had her suspicions about him at first, but he seemed to be the victim of something terrible. With her abilities, Farah could pierce his mind, peruse his memories, and figure out what exactly had happened. But there was no way in hell that she would go that route. It wasn’t right.

Once the glasses were sufficiently filled, Farah glanced back up at him. She noticed him looking around the room more, not fixing his ocean blue stare on her again. Thank gods. Farah eased his glass across her desk toward him. The tattoo on her finger was visible right before she pulled her hand back.

There was obviously no point in introducing herself, so Farah began directly. “Now that you’re awake and coherent, may I ask who you are and why it was that you appeared so suddenly at the gates of my school with a supernatural wound?” She steadily downed her drink as she waited for him to answer. A little known fact was that Farah Dowling could easily outdrink the majority of the magical population and not bat an eyelash. It took an incredible number of drinks to get her drunk or even close to it. She was never really sure if it was her mind magic or not, but either way, she didn’t mind in the least.

Keiryn leaned forwards and grabbed the glass the moment it was pushed towards him. Knew it. Easy. No one in this job would go without a bottle or two. He knew Griffin had multiple in her desk from past experiences so why wouldn’t Farah? It made sense, and he was sure the specialist leader had some in his own desk, too. It was a thing. Keiryn could never have been a teacher, it wasn’t in his nature to be nice to people, let alone students. Annoying fuckers. They always bugged him when he visited Cloud Tower. There were rumours of him and Griffin getting it on but that was a definite no.

The witch downed the contents of the glass within a few seconds. Gin. Not the best, nor the strongest, but it would have to do. There was only a slight burn as it laced his throat but it almost went straight to the wound. For a second he was tempted to ask for another, but he had already asked for enough from the other, whether or not he had really asked. Such as help and clothes. But there was nothing that could be done for those now.

Where did he even begin when it came to answering her questions? “Bowen. Keiryn Bowen.” He said, and his hard gaze finally returned from where it had been flicking around the room, then down to the glass, back to Farah once more, “I was visiting Griffin at Cloud Tower when it was attacked. Don’t know who, how or why. Ended up here by pure luck.” Someone wanted him alive, he was sure of that. The wound should have killed him. If Keiryn hadn’t made it when he did then there would be nothing left of him by now. Just a body decaying in the forest with no one to know that it was him who had died there.

“Half of the journey here is a blur. Not even my magic can decipher my own memories from the event.” Which was another strange thing. Usually he could, when he wanted, find and recover his own memories but for once… nothing. Not even a slither or what may have been, what could have occurred. It had Keiryn questioning his own mind.

Farah watched as he snatched the glass almost immediately drained its contents. He didn’t need to ask — she could practically see the desire for another drink on his face. So, the fairy used her magic, eyes alight, to call his glass back over to her. As she was pouring, she snuck a glance at him. “If you could do me a favor and not tell my coworkers about this, it would be appreciated.” She slid the glass over the table once more. “They aren’t aware that I day drink. Much less alone, most of the time.”

Kieryn Bowen. She made sure to remember that name. She reflexively almost offered her own, but she stopped herself since he clearly already knew her. She took the opportunity to refill her own glass of gin before her attention jerked back to Kieryn. “You came here… all the way from Cloud Tower?” she asked, incredulously. He must be a witch then. “Was anyone else attacked?” Asking in different phrasing if Griffin was alright.

She leaned back in her chair and took a long swallow before speaking again. “Someone clearly didn’t want you to remember much,” she mused. “It’s powerful mind magic at work, manipulating memories. But they always still remain at heart. They are never fully removed.”

Farah sat up, tossed her head back to finish her drink, and set it down soundlessly. Then, her brown gaze fixed intently on Kieryn. “I ask you this as a solution and nothing more. If you refuse me, I will not force my magic on you,” she began. “There is potential that I could find the memories. As an outside source of magic, locating them would be easier for me than for you because you were enchanted to forget them. I would search for nothing but the specific memories of your attack and journey here. But if you do not want me to look, I understand.“

The moment his glass was refilled Keiryn was reaching for it again. He offered a small nod of thanks, a very brief move that could have been a cheers, before the glass was drained once more. Probably not a good idea to drink so quickly but he needed something to ease the pain and, as there weren’t any painkillers, this would have to do. He didn’t make any comment about not telling the other professors. He didn’t care. The moment that he was well enough to leave he was out of there. It didn’t matter to him whether Farah drank or not, it wasn’t his business.

Once he had placed the glass back on the desk he sat back in the chair once more. His gaze only left Farah’s eyes to give her the best once over he could before they returned once more, “The whole of Cloud Tower was attacked,” He said, “I have no doubt whoever organised it was headed for Griffin,” Which was a major issue, “I was only at the lower entrance when it happened. Didn’t see much, just heard the screams.” All he hoped was that Griffin was alive. The Headmistress was a strong, powerful witch. She could hold her own but with an ambush like that? Keiryn only hoped she was alive.

His next answer came short and quick, “No.” No, he didn’t want anyone rooting through his memories. No, he didn’t want Farah to look and see what she could find. It didn’t help that his power was rooted in dark magic. Dangerous was an understatement and with his focus on minds and illusions it was an incredibly dark place to be. Even he didn’t know what she would find, and he certainly didn’t want Farah to be the one to find it.

“Once my magic returns to full strength I’ll find it.” Keiryn was more than capable. Farah had already done enough, even if she hadn’t meant to. Boundaries that she hadn’t meant to cross had been, and right now, in his state, he wasn’t going to let Farah go anywhere near his mind.

It didn’t take much to not Keiryn’s eagerness to drink. Perhaps Farah should send for Ben with the painkillers. They were designed specifically for that purpose and would last longer than whatever relief the alcohol could provide.

She inhaled slowly as he gave her a once-over look. It felt oddly vulnerable, like he was trying to see parts of her that never got a glimpse of the daylight. Because those parts of her did exist. And she had no intention of letting Kieryn near them.

But her heart dropped into her stomach as he explained the attack. It didn’t make sense, Cloud Tower was normally incredibly difficult to break into. And if whoever it was came after Griffin… there were a number of possibilities that entered Farah’s mind. Most of them were enough to make Farah’s stomach turn. She pushed them to the back of her mind for the moment.

His refusal didn’t surprise her. Not with how private he seemed to be. But his confidence in his magic made Farah intrigued. Not many fairies or witches she knew could make themselves remember a memory another magic wielder had caused them to forget.

Nonchalantly, she changed the topic. Her glass, half empty, sat abandoned in front of her. “What we’re you going to see Griffin about?” she asked sitting up straighter in contrast to Kieryn’s lounged back posture. “Was it anything important enough to warrant the attack? Or would it have just been unlucky timing?”

Keiryn adjusted himself a little in his chair. None of the positions he was sitting in was taking any of the pain away from the wound. Sitting up straight seemed to be the worst one so far, and it was why he was hunched over in his chair now. One hand was still grabbing at his injured side as if trying to suck the pain out of the wound and into his palm, but clearly, that wasn't working. With his other hand, which was perched on the arm of the chair, he waved it in the air vaguely.

"I doubt my presence there would have been the reason for an attack," He said, "Griffin contacted me a few days ago and wanted a meeting. We're friends, I suppose, but I often do work for her when she's unable. Too busy with Headmistress duties. But it wasn't anything important." At least, not to his knowledge.

He could be completely wrong about that. Griffin had never actually specified why or what he was meeting him for, but usually, it wasn't anything pressing. If it was, she came to him. Or she made sure to include 'urgent' in her communications but this one hadn't been anything of the matter. It seemed to be pure coincidence that the attack happened on the same day. At least, that was what Keiryn hoped. He had been wrong before and he certainly would be wrong again.

But why would his memories be erased and hidden? Whoever had attacked had kept him alive enough to make it to Alfea and thus tell Farah about the attack. Maybe that was what they wanted, to cause fear in the schools. If they went for Cloud Tower, they might go for the other schools next. At any point. It had taken moments for them to get into the witches school, how long would it take from them to get here?

Farah’s eyes softened as she watched Kieryn continually fix his positioning to find something comfortable. His body language told her enough — the wound was still causing him pain, and it looked like he might be trying to use magic. The headmistress was about to say something, but she was momentarily distracted as he spoke.

Her thin lips pursed in thought. She had a nagging feeling that the attack had happened today for a reason. And this was likely that reason, especially since Kieryn himself was attacked. “And you have no idea what she wanted to see you about? Did anyone else know about this meeting?” Farah sighed softly and lifted her glass to her lips again. The alcohol seared her throat as it went down, but that was what she liked best about it. It dulled things for a little while. Made her calmer, in most cases. In some cases, it made Farah do different things.

She inclined her head slightly, resisting the temptation to fill her glass again. Maybe his too. “What kind of work does she ask of you?” Farah asked casually. She was trying to figure it out quickly, before something similar could happen to her school. Once she would be sure Alfea was safe and protected, then she would make the journey to Cloud Tower and find out what had happened to the school and it’s headmistress.

Finally, Farah had enough of his discomfort. She rose from her seat and made her way around her desk until she was in front of Kieryn. Her black dress hugged her figure perfectly as she moved and perched herself on the edge of her desk directly in front of him. Did she own anything that wasn’t form-fitting? Leaning forward slightly, her fingers reached out toward his wound before curling back and thinking better of it.

“May I?” she asked gently.

Keiryn once again waved his hand vaguely in the air. How could he explain what he did? It wasn’t exactly the best of things, considering he killed people and things for a living, but it was what he did and there wasn’t much he could do to change his past now. It was how he made a living. All over the magical dimension. Royals needed people taking care of, governments needed someone on the inside to take people down. It wasn’t necessarily a moral or ethical thing, but it paid well and it allowed him to travel and see the world.

The magical dimension was large. There were so planets, so many people out there, who wouldn’t want to get out and see what the world had to offer? Being stuck on Magix was one thing, being stuck here to study was another. It was why he had left as soon as he had the chance. Found work, found people like him. Of course, half of them got caught, they were as talented, but Keiryn liked to think that he had been around long enough, seen enough, and had the magical abilities to make sure it all went to plan every time. Expect this time. This time, someone must have caught wind that he was attending Cloud Tower.

“Freelance work,” He settled upon, “Not exactly the most… ethical, freelance work.” The easiest explanation he could muster or think to give. Assassin? If he said that he was sure Farah would kick him out right there and then.

But then she was moving around the table and Keiryn couldn’t help but let his gable drift over the rest of her. She looked damned good. Maybe it was the alcohol or the pain that was in his body and mind but the thought didn’t seem all that strange. Either way, Farah was an attractive woman, especially in that outfit, but the pain was getting too much and those thoughts were overtaken by that a moment later.

He shifted, groaned softly, and then Farah was reaching for him. Half of him screamed to tell her to fuck off and back off, but the other knew he needed the help. And she had helped him well
enough so far, surely a little more would be fine? Keiryn nodded, “Fine.”